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Not counting the time in your life before you got your first paying job
I have gone years before being in unemployment. Lately, I've been unemployed since October, and yeah, seems pretty hopeless at this point.
Eight months. What broke the deadlock - through an unlikely string of coincidences, I found myself on a long line at a service department desk when the power went out, making all bookings and payments revert to manual paperwork, leading to even longer delays. I struck up a conversation with the person in front of my, who was an exec recruiter completely out of my field. He was kind enough to tell me the buzz words with which to describe my core accomplishments and strengths. I reshaped my resume.
I found a good job - five states away - within a month.
Still scratching my head over the string of coincidences that had to fall into place - precisely - for me to have had that conversation. If I had not already been a believer, it would surely have made one out of me.
I have never collected unemployment handouts -- I've always gone out and gotten some kind of job, not always my first choice in type of job but I'm the kind that has to work. I've done a variety of different kind of jobs, they didn't have to be in my field of study.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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My first job was at age 14, quit at 20 to take a job closer to college, quit that to take a good job with benefits after graduate school, stayed 17 years then quit to move when I bought a business. After 16 years, when the economy tanked in 2008-09 I managed to scrape by with the few customers left and savings until I found a new job where I still work now. I have never actually been unemployed.
I went unemployed while in tech school for 4 months.. That was 6 years ago. Other than that I've never been employed longer than a week in the last 11 years..
I feel like a lot of the people that can't get even bottom of the barrel jobs must have some issues that can't be conveyed through their typing on an online forum. Personality, personal hygiene, work ethic, etc.
I went unemployed while in tech school for 4 months.. That was 6 years ago. Other than that I've never been employed longer than a week in the last 11 years..
I feel like a lot of the people that can't get even bottom of the barrel jobs must have some issues that can't be conveyed through their typing on an online forum. Personality, personal hygiene, work ethic, etc.
That's what you want to believe but it's not true. If there's hundreds of applicants that alone can keep you out. Following up and having a work ethic won't do you much good if there are hundreds of people applying.
Do you guys believe that the whole job hunting thing not only requires your skills and selling yourself/packaging yourself well, but also LUCK? As in being at the right place at the right time...
I count underemployment as unemployment, and so my time is 5 years. I've had jobs in the past 5 years, but they haven't been full time or had to do with my college degree which is what I want to work in and what I have been applying for jobs and networking in since I graduated. I even moved 3,000 miles. Definitely doesn't have to do with work ethic since even tho I have a college degree I've been hard working at several different jobs that didn't require one.
Do you guys believe that the whole job hunting thing not only requires your skills and selling yourself/packaging yourself well, but also LUCK? As in being at the right place at the right time...
A little luck can come into play. One of the positions I'm in the running for I happened to find by reading a blog post I found on my Facebook newsfeed. If I weren't recently laid off or subscribed to that blog I wouldn't be up for what I consider a dream job
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